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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23101237">bit your heart and released</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunonolibero/pseuds/karasunonolibero'>karasunonolibero</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - America, Fluff and Smut, Hotel Sex, M/M, Semi-Public Sex, Summer Romance, Unsafe Sex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 05:02:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,014</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23101237</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunonolibero/pseuds/karasunonolibero</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The problem isn’t that he doesn’t like Koushi. No, Koushi’s fantastic. He’s cheerful and sweet and puts up with Tooru and Hajime, which means he’s got a wellspring of patience. His laugh is clear like a cloudless sky and when he smiles, it’s like every firefly in the dunes lit up at once. </p><p>The problem is that Koushi, like Tooru and Hajime, is going to leave come the end of August. This…whatever it would be, a hookup or a fling or something, has an expiration date. Eight weeks. Daichi’s afraid he’ll be hooked on this boy and eight weeks won’t be enough.</p><p>~</p><p>or, Koushi spends a summer in the coastal tourist town Daichi calls home.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Side IwaOi - Relationship, side KuroYaku</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!! NSFW Big Bang 2020!!</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>AHHH OKAY WE ARE HERE!!! this is an idea i've had for a while and i am so excited to finally start sharing it! but first i want to thank char for hosting this event and doing a fantastic job, it's been so much fun! </p><p>and second, i want to thank cie for being so sweet and awesome and on top of things and y'all i literally Gasped when i saw the final piece and i know you will too, so find that riiiiiight <a href="https://twitter.com/megaluhdon/status/1244846349981569024?s=20">here</a> :D</p><p>ok so! this piece started getting a biiiiit out of hand and too unwieldy to finish in time so i've posted the first half-ish of this, and the rest will come by the summer! i hope you enjoy it :D</p><p>edit: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2pvZQMP4kjmdPI1MG8UIjI?si=YQaZUBqrSCK4juathpNbuw">there's a playlist</a>!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">When a yellow topless Jeep arrives in Atlantic City,that’s how Daichi knows the summer’s officially begun.</p><p class="p1">Summer means heat and sweaty crowds on the boardwalk and live music spilling out of every restaurant and kids running on the beach chasing after seagulls and his clothes reeking of fried dough when he comes home.</p><p class="p1">It means his old friends Tooru and Hajime are coming to the shore.</p><p class="p1">The day they roll into town in their obnoxiously bright car, the sweltering heat’s forced Daichi to chug through three bottles of Gatorade before lunch. He’s halfway through his fourth when he sees two long shadows loom over him.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, god, is it June first already?” he deadpans.</p><p class="p1">He doesn’t need to turn around to know that Tooru’s probably huffing and crossing his arms. “You don’t even sound happy to see us.”</p><p class="p1">“Because I’m not.” He is. He stands up from where he’s been crouched over the electric box he’s been working on, turning around to see his visitors.</p><p class="p1">The three of them have been friends since they were little kids. Tooru and Hajime met when four-year-old Hajime dropped a hermit crab on four-year-old Tooru’s head at the beach. Daichi came along two days later when he accidentally stepped on Tooru’s sand castle and stayed to help build a new one in apology. The three of them have been inseparable (Haijime prefers the world <em>insufferable</em>) ever since, at least in the summers. Tooru and Hajime lived in New York City, so when Labor Day weekend rolled around, they left, swept out of town the way the tide took the possessions of unsuspecting beachgoers, leaving Daichi, the local, to stay and wait for his friends to come back next June.</p><p class="p1">Tooru’s standing there, all decked out for summer, with sunglasses perched on his nose and a NASA t-shirt that Daichi’s learned is his favorite. Hajime looks less thrilled, arms crossed and beach bag slung over his shoulder. “Hey, Daichi.”</p><p class="p1">“Good to see you again.” Daichi breaks into a grin and hugs each of them in turn. Tooru already reeks of sunscreen. “When did you get into town?”</p><p class="p1">“About an hour ago,” Hajime says. “The minute we put our cases in our room, Tooru was on my neck about going to the beach.” He pitches his voice higher in an apparent but horrendous imitation of Tooru. “Hajime, we have to go to the beach <em>right now</em>, I need to go in the ocean to let my mermaid tail out—”</p><p class="p1">“I didn’t say any of that!” Tooru smacks Hajime in the arm, but they’re both smiling.</p><p class="p1">“You might as well have. Which was very rude considering you didn’t even invite Koushi.”</p><p class="p1">“Koushi fell asleep on the sofa the minute we got in! It would have been ruder to wake him up.”</p><p class="p1">“Who’s Koushi?” Daichi interrupts.</p><p class="p1">Tooru grins. Daichi’s afraid of that particular grin because it means Tooru is up to something. “He’s a friend from college,” he tells Daichi. “He lived in the apartment next to us this year so we got to know him. You’ll <em>love</em> him.”</p><p class="p1">“Wait at least another hour before you start antagonizing Daichi, will you?” Hajime rolls his eyes. “Let’s let him get back to work. What time are you off? We should all go to the Owl’s Nest later, so we can catch up and you can meet Koushi.”</p><p class="p1">Daichi checks his watch. “At four, so in two and a half hours. I’ll meet you there at five, how’s that?”</p><p class="p1">“Perfect. See you soon, Daichi!” Tooru throws up a peace sign before heading off down the boardwalk, hand-in-hand with Hajime.</p><p class="p1">They really are a funny couple, Daichi thinks as he wipes the sweat from his brow and hunches over the electrical box again.</p><p class="p1">“Hey! Excuse me!” someone calls, and he looks up again, half-expecting it’s Lev needing help with the wire cutter again.</p><p class="p1">Instead, the man running towards him is—well, <em>beautiful</em>. Daichi dimly wonders if he’s just a heat-induced hallucination. People this good-looking don’t just run up to him when he’s all sweaty and gross like this. “Can I help you?” Daichi asks.</p><p class="p1">The person doesn’t answer until he’s standing right in front of Daichi. He’s even prettier up close, with grayish hair swept over his forehead, big, soft hazel eyes, and even a beauty mark under his left eye. Daichi’s mouth feels dry even though his last sip of water was less than a minute ago. “Sorry to bother you,” the pretty stranger says with a smile. “I’m just looking for the nearest pharmacy. Or wherever sells sunscreen and sunglasses.”</p><p class="p1">“Welcome to Atlantic City. Everyone and their mother sells sunglasses and sunscreen,” Daichi says with a laugh, pointing to a storefront with a green awning. “The closest one is Shimada’s Sun Shack. Say that five times fast.”</p><p class="p1">The stranger grins and hides a laugh behind his hand. “Thanks for the help. I’ll come back if I need more directions.” And then he’s gone, retreating to the other end of the boardwalk just as quickly as he’d come.</p><p class="p1">Lev walks up to him and slaps him on the shoulder. “You look like you just saw a dune ghost.”</p><p class="p1">“For the last time, what the fuck is a dune ghost?” Morisuke demands from where he’s wedged himself behind the ring toss booth.</p><p class="p1">“The ghosts in the dunes!”</p><p class="p1">Morisuke pops out from the booth, holding a wrench. “For the <em>last time</em>, there are no ghosts in the dunes!”</p><p class="p1">“Why do I look like I saw a dune ghost?” Daichi asks.</p><p class="p1">“Can you people stop saying ‘dune ghost’ before I throw myself off the pier?” their boss Keishin yells.</p><p class="p1">Lev doesn’t say <em>dune ghost</em> again, but he just gives Daichi a toothy grin. “Anyway, you’re, like, all pale and shit.”</p><p class="p1">Morisuke laughs. “That’s just what he looks like when he sees someone hot but is too much of a coward to do anything about.”</p><p class="p1">“I don’t look like that!” Daichi insists, but Lev starts giggling. “I don’t even know his name.”</p><p class="p1">“Tragic.” Morisuke rolls his eyes. “What if you missed out on a hot summer fling because you were—well, you?”</p><p class="p1">“I’m quitting,” Daichi grumbles under his breath.</p><p class="p1">“I heard that!” Keishin shouts.</p><p class="p1">Once four o’clock rolls around, Daichi yells goodbye to no one in particular, which immediately attracts Tetsurou’s attention.</p><p class="p1">“Ooooh, Daichi’s got a hot date?” he teases, slinging a sweaty arm over Daichi’s shoulders. “You remember our deal! First dates are double dates.”</p><p class="p1">“I never agreed to this,” Morisuke shouts from the bumper cars.</p><p class="p1">“Love you!”</p><p class="p1">The next sound Daichi hears is metal clanging on metal, coming from the general vicinity of the bumper cars. “I’m just meeting Hajime and Tooru. They said they brought a friend this year so we’re all getting drinks.”</p><p class="p1">By the time he finally escapes Tetsurou’s interrogation, he only has half an hour to head back to his apartment to shower and change clothes. Home is a small one-bed apartment in a building two minutes from the boardwalk, which would be perfect if he didn’t live next to a couple who argue day in and day out. One of these days he should probably see if everything’s okay.</p><p class="p1">The Owl’s Nest is only a ten-minute walk from his apartment, so he leaves early and takes his time. Now that summer’s in full swing, the boardwalk traffic has multiplied, so even on a scorching day like today, the crowds pack the boardwalk from the storefronts right up to the dunes. The boardwalk tram rolls by, cutting through the waves of visitors on its way to the casinos. Children run by with bags of saltwater taffy and ice cream cones, teenagers hold hands on benches, and families clump together to stare at maps.</p><p class="p1">It’s home.</p><p class="p1">He’s still early, but he heads inside and goes straight to the bar. “Hey, Asahi!”</p><p class="p1">“Daichi!” Asahi greets with a grin, already grabbing a glass. “Sick of Tooru and Hajime already?”</p><p class="p1">“Not yet, but ask me again in a week and I’ll have a new answer,” Daichi deadpans, sliding onto a stool. “But apparently they brought a friend this summer.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh?” Asahi looks interested.</p><p class="p1">“He’s coming tonight. I think Tooru’s trying to set me up,” Daichi mutters.</p><p class="p1">“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.” Asahi gives him a pointed look as he spears a pineapple slice and cherry on a toothpick to rest on top of the drink. “How long has it been since you dated Yuuji?”</p><p class="p1">“A few years,” Daichi admits. “But at least we could go back to being friends.”</p><p class="p1">“I heard he just started dating that guy who works at the arcade. I think it was a few weeks ago.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh, Nishinoya?” Daichi nods. “Good for them. They seem like they’d be good together.”</p><p class="p1">Asahi studies him for a moment. “Are you sure? Or are you just saying that?”</p><p class="p1">“We’re here!” Tooru’s voice sings. Asahi looks like he wants to drink the entire Mai Tai himself as Tooru and Hajime walk up to the bar.</p><p class="p1">“Hajime!” Tooru chirps. “Are you ready to introduce Daichi to the love of his life?”</p><p class="p1">“Oops, my ear fell off and I couldn’t hear whatever stupid thing came out of your mouth,” Hajime says.</p><p class="p1">“Mean, Hajime!” Tooru whines. “Anyway, Koushi went to the bathroom, so he’ll be here in a second. You’ll love him.”</p><p class="p1">“That’s the second time you’ve said that, so if I don’t love him, I want my money back,” Daichi informs him.</p><p class="p1">“You will! He’s just your type.”</p><p class="p1">Tooru giggles and flicks at Hajime’s glass. “Pina coladas are gross. I don’t know how you deal with something so disgusting.”</p><p class="p1">“I’m dating you, aren’t I?”</p><p class="p1">Three things happen at the same time after that. Tooru shrieks, causing everyone in the bar to turn and stare at him; Asahi spills half of Tooru’s Blue Hawaii; and Daichi spots the pretty stranger from the pier.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, it’s you again!” Daichi calls to him, and the stranger walks up to him with a smile.</p><p class="p1">“I found the store,” he says, taking the sunglasses off his head. “Sorry I’m not lost right now, or I’d ask for directions again.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh, so you’ve already met!” Tooru beams.</p><p class="p1">”Wait—“ Daichi looks from Tooru to the stranger to Hajime back to the stranger.</p><p class="p1">The stranger looks equally surprised. “You’re the Daichi that Tooru wouldn’t shut up about on the drive here?”</p><p class="p1">“So—you’re Koushi, then?” is all Daichi can think to say.</p><p class="p1">“That’s me,” the stranger—Koushi—says. “So this is…well.” And then a light blush appears across his cheeks, which really isn’t fair to Daichi, who hasn’t had nearly enough drinks for this.</p><p class="p1">Hajime looks more amused than a child on the carousel. “Well, good to know Tooru’s not getting sued anytime soon.”</p><p class="p1">“Asahi,” Daichi calls. “Whatever Koushi wants, put it on my tab.”</p><p class="p1">Tooru <em>oohs</em> obnoxiously in his ear. “So I need to hear all about how you two met.”</p><p class="p1">“Nothing special,” Koushi says with a laugh. “I woke up from my nap, saw you were gone, and thought I’d head out and get some stuff. But I got lost pretty fast, so I had to ask Daichi for directions.”</p><p class="p1">“What’re you having, Koushi?” Asahi asks.</p><p class="p1">“Sex on the Beach, please,” Koushi tells him. Maybe Daichi’s imagining it but he swears he sees Koushi shoot a look in his direction.</p><p class="p1">“Kinky,” Tooru snickers. Hajime cuffs him in the back of the head.</p><p class="p1">“Are they always like this?” Koushi asks him, grabbing his drink and hopping into a seat.</p><p class="p1">“They’ve been like this since they were about four years old,” Daichi says with a fond roll of his eyes. “I’m so sorry you had to live next to these idiots.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi laughs. “We were all moving in at the same time, and I noticed the NYU banner in Hajime’s box and asked him about it. Turns out we all went to the same school and were in the same year,” he says. “But since our class schedules were so different we didn’t actually get to be friends until a few months after. The next time I saw them after moving in was going over to ask if they could turn whatever they were watching down so I could study,” he admits.</p><p class="p1">“Nerd,” Daichi teases him.</p><p class="p1">“Hey!” Koushi reaches out and flicks the end of Daichi’s nose with his wet straw. “Tooru and Hajime promised you were nice. Don’t make me tell them they were wrong.”</p><p class="p1">Pretty <em>and</em> a little sassy? Daichi might be a little bit stupidly in love, he thinks as Koushi sips at his drink. “Anyway. You’ve known Tooru and Hajime for a long time, then,” he continues.</p><p class="p1">Daichi chuckles and relays the tale. “Poor Tooru kind of got the short end of the stick in both meetings,” he says, trying his best not to get distracted as Koushi giggles along with him, “but I guess it wasn’t enough to make him hate either of us, so here we are.”</p><p class="p1">“And how long have they been dating? They never told me, but I assumed it was a long time,” Koushi adds, casting a glance over his shoulder at the couple, who are now clinging to each other, much to Asahi’s chagrin.</p><p class="p1">“I think they were fifteen or sixteen. It was one of those things where they were best friends and it just turned into something more, you know?”</p><p class="p1">“I don’t, actually,” Koushi says breezily, “all my high school relationships were—well, high school relationships. Why, are you speaking from experience?”</p><p class="p1">Pretty and sassy and bold. Daichi’s mental checklist of qualities he likes about Koushi is growing by the minute. “Sort of, but it didn’t work out,” he admits. “We were friends and then we dated for a long time but now we’re mostly back to being friends.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi hums. “At least you didn’t lose them completely.”</p><p class="p1">No, and Daichi’s beyond grateful for that. He opens his mouth to say something, but Tooru’s waving a hand in his face before he can get the words out.</p><p class="p1">“Yoo-hoo!” Tooru grins. “Want to head over to Semi’s?”</p><p class="p1">Daichi looks, alarmed, at Tooru’s empty glass. Tooru’s<em> two</em> empty glasses. “I’m not done yet!”</p><p class="p1">“I am!” Koushi smirks, downs the rest of his drink in one long sip, and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “What’s Semi’s?”</p><p class="p1">“A club, with an outdoor dance floor,” Hajime tells them, face looking flushed already.</p><p class="p1">“Is this what you learn in college? How to drink that fast?”</p><p class="p1">Tooru rolls his eyes and smacks Daichi in the arm. “Shut up, <em>Daddy</em>.”</p><p class="p1">“Stop that!” Daichi protests, scrunching up his nose as he feels his cheeks start to heat up and prays Koushi didn’t hear that.</p><p class="p1">Koushi heard it. “Daddy?” he teases, hooking his chin over Daichi’s shoulder.</p><p class="p1">“No,” is all Daichi can think to say in response. Tooru just laughs. “I’m—I’m not daddy.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi just smirks at him. “We’ll see.”</p><p class="p1">“What does that even mean?” But Koushi is already following Hajime and Tooru out the door, leaving Daichi no choice but to throw some cash on the bar to cover the bill and run after them.</p><p class="p1">Semi’s is a small beach house-turned-nightclub by the water. Once a ramshackle old cottage, it’s been turned into a hidden gem of a party hotspot for locals and some in-the-know tourists. The inside holds the bar, with a patio that leads out to a lit-up dance floor right on the beach. It’s not really Daichi’s scene, but Tooru and Hajime like it, and Koushi seems excited. So maybe he’ll have a nice time.</p><p class="p1">Inside, the bass runs through the floor, making Daichi’s chest rattle, and bright multicolored lights flash around the DJ booth. Hajime heads straight for the bar, while Tooru grabs Koushi by both hands and drags him out to the dance floor. Koushi giggles—fucking <em>giggles</em>—and goes with him, throwing himself into the crowd and starting to shimmy his shoulders to whatever pop song is on. Even in the semi-darkness, he’s a sight, the flashing lights dyeing his silver hair every color of the rainbow and body language open, happy as he dances with Tooru.</p><p class="p1">A beer is pressed into his hand, and he turns to see Iwaizumi standing next to him. “He’s something.”</p><p class="p1">“Who?”</p><p class="p1">Hajime snorts fondly. “Well, both of them. But I see you checking Koushi out.”</p><p class="p1">Daichi hopes it’s too dark to see his blush. “He seems nice.”</p><p class="p1">“Listen, not to be all nosy like Tooru, but I think you guys would be good together.”</p><p class="p1">“You’ve been in town less than a day and you’re already trying to set me up?”</p><p class="p1">“I’m just calling it as I see it. I bet he’d be into you, though. You seem like his type.”</p><p class="p1">“What’s his type?”</p><p class="p1">“Daichi!” Koushi shouts, running up to him with a grin. “Come on! Dance!”</p><p class="p1">“Oh, I don’t really dance, and I’ve got a drink—”</p><p class="p1">Koushi snatches the beer from him, thrusts it into Hajime’s hand, and yells, “No more drink! Now dance!” He tugs on Daichi’s hand, sticking his lower lip out in a pout.</p><p class="p1">Daichi sighs. “Okay.”</p><p class="p1">He has a feeling Koushi is going to talk him into a lot of things this summer.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">The next morning, Daichi wakes up with a pounding head and a dry mouth. At least he has the day off as well as all his memories from the night before.</p><p class="p1">He’d danced with Koushi for a few songs, moving awkwardly until Koushi shook his head and physically moved Daichi’s hands to his waist. “Like this!” he’d yelled, swinging his hips to the beat of the music, and Daichi had done his best to follow.</p><p class="p1">He wasn’t surprised that a lot of people cut in, asking Koushi to dance, and though he wanted to be selfish and say no, Koushi was with him, Koushi seemed all too happy to give everyone who asked a dance. So after a while, he took his leave, walking back to his apartment as the buzz wore off.</p><p class="p1">He rolls over and reaches for his phone to find he’s got four texts, all from Tooru.</p><p class="p1">INCOMING<br/>&lt;&lt; DAICHIIII</p><p class="p1">INCOMING<br/>&lt;&lt; have fun last night??</p><p class="p1">INCOMING<br/>&lt;&lt; me nd hajime and koushi are gonna go out for lunch and then hit the beach!!</p><p class="p1">INCOMING<br/>&lt;&lt; koushi plays volleyball so if u come we can play two on two!!!</p><p class="p1">Curse Tooru for being so peppy in the morning, even after a night of drinking. “Does that guy ever get hungover?” Daichi mumbles to himself as he peeks at the time. Just after ten o’clock. That gives him at least two hours to sober up before meeting them. He sends Tooru a text with his agreement; Tooru replies with a row of various happy/summery emojis and tells him they’re meeting at a new cafe called Greenleaf at noon. Daichi agrees, and the countdown begins. He lies in bed for another few minutes before the promise of seeing Koushi again drags him toward the shower.</p><p class="p3">~</p><p class="p1">“Daichi!”</p><p class="p1">Koushi is waiting outside for him with a blue beach bag slung over his shoulder and a pair of aviator sunglasses on top of his head. Daichi smiles, subconsciously walking faster to reach him. “Morning.”</p><p class="p1">“Afternoon, actually,” Koushi chirps. “Have you been here before?”</p><p class="p1">Daichi looks at the sign above the place. “Not yet. I think it just opened, like, a month ago.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh, good! Then if it’s bad, I can blame Tooru for picking it.”</p><p class="p1">“You were considered blaming me?”</p><p class="p1">“If it was bad and you didn’t tell us? Yeah.” Koushi grins at him and pushes the door open. “They have a table.”</p><p class="p1">The cafe turns out to be a nice little vegan spot closer to the center of town, set away from the hustle and bustle of the boardwalk. It’s quieter than any of the places near the shore, and more of the crowd looks local. Daichi likes that. His veggie burger is fine, but he’s more taken by Koushi, whose aviator sunglasses shouldn’t look so cute on the top of his head like that.</p><p class="p1">After they’re finished, they head back to Tooru and Hajime’s rental to pick up their beach supplies before heading to the shore. It’s nearing one o’clock now, and the blinding sun’s forced just about every tourist in Atlantic City to the water. They tiptoe past families with multi-towel spreads, couples kissing, and groups of teenagers on vacation and manage to claim a small parcel of property right near the beach volleyball net.</p><p class="p1">“Perfect!” Tooru declares, spreading out his towel with a flourish and setting his bag down. Hajime gets to work setting up the umbrella, and Daichi would help if Koushi didn’t choose that moment to tug his shirt and shorts off, leaving him in a pair of adorable watermelon-print swim trunks that hit mid-thigh. He stretches his arms over his head, putting planes of lean muscle on display, and Daichi thinks this just might be the summer he actually dies of heatstroke.</p><p class="p1">Koushi spots him and before he can even think to make up an excuse for staring, there’s a bottle of sunscreen in front of his face. “Can you do my back?” Koushi asks with a smile.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, sure,” Daichi croaks out, tearing his own shirt off before taking the proffered bottle. Koushi plops down on the towel in front of Daichi, feet burrowing into the sand.</p><p class="p1">“Is it always this busy in the summer?” Koushi asks idly.</p><p class="p1">Daichi hums, pouring some sunscreen into his hands before starting to rub it over Koushi’s shoulder blades. “Believe it or not, this isn’t even peak summer. When I was a kid, I didn’t finish school until, like, the last week of June. So just wait until July.” The idle conversation is almost enough to distract him from the task at hand—<em>almost</em>. Koushi’s skin is very, very pale, and impossibly smooth under the rough pads of his fingers. Daichi rubs a little extra on the back of Koushi’s neck; he himself doesn’t burn often but he does know that very few things ruin a vacation like a sunburn. “So. This is your first time here, right?” he asks as his hands drift lower, to the small of his back.</p><p class="p1">“Mhm.” Koushi reaches for the sunscreen and starts to apply it to his arms. “It’s cute. Like a little slice of heaven by the sea.”</p><p class="p1">Daichi laughs. “See if you’re still saying that by the end of the summer.”</p><p class="p1">“What, is it that bad?”</p><p class="p1">“Daichi’s just being a lonely old crab,” Tooru interjects from under the umbrella. “We wouldn’t take you somewhere <em>bad</em>, Koushi, who do you think we are?”</p><p class="p1">“I’m just saying, it’s easy to think it’s cute when you’re only here for a summer. Winters here suck,” Daichi admits. “It’s cold, it’s windy, there’s no one around, the pier is closed so I usually end up having to find a seasonal retail job, and did I mention it’s cold?”</p><p class="p1">Koushi giggles. “Okay, okay, message received. But I think that just means you have to enjoy the summers while they’re here.”</p><p class="p1">“Isn’t that the truth,” Daichi muses. “I think you’re done.”</p><p class="p1">“Thank you!” Koushi turns around, swiping some sunscreen on his cheeks. “Want me to do you?”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, he does!” Tooru calls.</p><p class="p1">“Shut up, Shittykawa!” Daichi and Hajime say at the same time before bursting into cackles.</p><p class="p1">Tooru pouts. “Koushi!”</p><p class="p1">Koushi pauses, glancing from Tooru to Hajime to Daichi, and then laughs. “You’re on your own, Shittykawa.”</p><p class="p1">“Rude!” Tooru protests, snatching the volleyball out of his beach bag. “See if I let you play with me.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi scoffs. “Let me hit your tosses!”</p><p class="p1">“Hit your own tosses!”</p><p class="p1">“Drama queen,” Daichi mutters.</p><p class="p1">“But we love him,” Hajime sighs. “Unfortunately.”</p><p class="p1">“Come here, Daichi, let me do your back,” Koushi says. Daichi scoots over on the towel, turning to face the ocean while Koushi works the lotion into his skin. Koushi has very nice hands, he thinks dimly. Soft hands and good control over his fingers. He could be a professional masseur, probably. Daichi would pay for this.</p><p class="p1">“What?” Koushi says.</p><p class="p1">“Huh?”</p><p class="p1">“You said you’d pay for this.” Koushi sounds like he’s grinning. Daichi blushes.</p><p class="p1">“The view,” he says lamely. “I mean, the beaches are free, and like, for this view? They should charge for it.”</p><p class="p1">“Okay,” Koushi says, voice holding a note of amusement.</p><p class="p1">“Tooru said you play volleyball,” Daichi says after a few seconds of silence.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah. I’m not on the official team with them, but I play on the club team.”</p><p class="p1">“What position?”</p><p class="p1">“Setter.”</p><p class="p1">“I was a wing spiker in high school,” Daichi tells him. “Setters are cool, though.”</p><p class="p1">“I mean, obviously I’m biased, but setters are definitely the best.” Koushi caps the sunscreen and stands up. “Wanna go try and get the ball back from Tooru?”</p><p class="p1">“You’re on.” Daichi follows Koushi to the court, where Tooru has apparently come to his senses and is now lazily peppering with Hajime. “Hey! Two on two?”</p><p class="p1">“Wanna do you and Koushi and me and Tooru?” Hajime says. “So then we each have a setter?”</p><p class="p1">“We can switch it up later, too, if we want,” Tooru says, lazily setting to himself a few times before catching the ball.</p><p class="p1">“You’re on. You wanna serve first or us?” Daichi says.</p><p class="p1">“We’ll serve,” Tooru says, stepping back several paces. There’s nothing to delineate the boundaries of the court, so Daichi supposes they’ll just eyeball it. They all have a pretty good sense of the court size, anyway, he’s sure. He settles into a defensive position, rocking his weight onto the balls of his feet.</p><p class="p1">Tooru tosses the ball, jumps, and slams it over the net with the power Daichi knows all too well. “Mine!” Daichi calls, lunging for the receive and sending it to Koushi.</p><p class="p1">“Daichi, over!” Koushi sets it high—a safe toss, one that gives Daichi plenty of time to make his approach. He hits it over, only for Tooru to dig it up.</p><p class="p1">“Hajime, left!”</p><p class="p1">“Tooru!”</p><p class="p1">“Mine!”</p><p class="p1">“Send it here!”</p><p class="p1">Daichi loses himself in the game, focus narrowing down to the ball flying over the net and the sand under his feet. Tetsurou and Morisuke and Lev play with him sometimes on the rare days they all happen to have the day off, but it’s never like this, never this intense. Koushi is brilliant, calm and steady but deceptively tricky in his plays and his serves. And he’s a hell of a spiker, too—after a tough receive, Daichi doesn’t have time to do anything but give him a less-than-ideal underhand pass for a set, but Koushi spikes it into the sand right in front of Hajime’s feet like it's nothing.</p><p class="p1">“Holy <em>shit</em>, nice kill.” Daichi gapes while Koushi just smiles. “You could be a wing spiker, you know.”</p><p class="p1">“Probably,” Koushi agrees, “but spikers are too…flashy. I don’t like being flashy.”</p><p class="p1">“And you wouldn’t call that flashy?”</p><p class="p1">“I call that getting us a point.” Koushi winks—fucking <em>winks</em>—and tosses the ball to Daichi. “Your serve.”</p><p class="p1">They’re not really keeping score, but eventually they do switch up the teams. Koushi skips over to Tooru, and Iwaizumi joins Daichi on his side of the net.</p><p class="p1">“Be careful. He’s tricky,” he says as Daichi waits for Koushi’s serve.</p><p class="p1">“Which one?”</p><p class="p1">“Both,” is all Iwaizumi has time to say before diving for—and missing—the receive. “Damnit!”</p><p class="p1">Koushi and Tooru make a scarily good team, Daichi decides. Both highly skilled setters <em>and</em> spikers, and both with formidable serves. He has to wonder why Koushi isn’t on the team with Tooru and Hajime, if he plays like this all the time. Maybe he’ll ask later.</p><p class="p1">The game ends when Tooru announces he and Koushi have won and that he’s going for a swim. “You did not!” Hajime yells, chasing him down the sand into the ocean. Daichi can hear Tooru shrieking from here.</p><p class="p1">“Okay, but we totally did,” Koushi says, picking up the ball and brushing sand from his shins. “Wanna join them?”</p><p class="p1">The first dip of the summer is always jarring—the water hasn’t warmed yet, so it’s still cold enough to be that side of uncomfortable, but before he can warn Koushi that it’ll be chilly, Koushi is diving headfirst into the waves.</p><p class="p1">“Koushi!” he calls, running in after him. The water laps at his skin, gripping his nerves with the chill as he wades in to his waist.</p><p class="p1">Koushi’s head pops up twenty feet from him, and when he turns to face Daichi, he’s grinning brightly. “It’s so nice!”</p><p class="p1">“Koushi, it’s <em>cold</em>!”</p><p class="p1">“It’s <em>nice</em>!” Koushi waves at him, beckoning him deeper. Daichi takes a deep breath and submerges himself, ignoring the initial cold shock and paddling leisurely out to Koushi.</p><p class="p1">“You’re nuts,” Daichi informs him once he can speak without shouting. “<em>Nobody</em> likes the water this much this early in the season. Exhibit A.” He flings an arm toward Tooru, who’s shrieking as Hajime dunks him underwater.</p><p class="p1">“Tooru doesn’t like much of anything that’s not his idea,” Koushi corrects him, sinking into the water up to his chin. “I, on the other hand, find it refreshing. We did just play some very intense games of volleyball.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re right.” Suddenly, Daichi feels a wicked grin take over. “So if you like it so much, you won’t mind if I do this.”</p><p class="p1">He wraps his arms around Koushi’s slim waist and pulls him underwater. When they come up, Koushi isn’t screaming like Tooru does when Hajime does this to him. Instead, he’s laughing as he slicks his wet hair away from his face, water droplets running down his neck and pooling in his collarbones.</p><p class="p1">Daichi feels the summer’s heat forecast ratchet up a few notches.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">When Daichi drags himself into work the next day at noon, Tetsurou greets him with a shit-eating grin.</p><p class="p1">“So, how was your day off?” he drawls with an exaggerated wink. “Mori said he saw you with the pretty boy from the other day.”</p><p class="p1">“Playing volleyball!” Morisuke pipes up from where he’s checking on the roller coaster track. “If you don’t invite him to play volleyball with us, I’m telling Keishin to fire you.”</p><p class="p1">“We haven’t all played together since April!” Daichi protests. “But fine, I’ll ask him.”</p><p class="p1">“I wanna play!” Lev shouts from somewhere near the bumper cars.</p><p class="p1">“No fucking way!” Morisuke yells back.</p><p class="p1">“You never let me play!”</p><p class="p1">“Because you just wave your arms around the whole time! It’s useless!”</p><p class="p1">“Stop yelling and get back to work!” Keishin yells. So Daichi picks up a wrench and dives into repairing the swing carousel with Tetsurou.</p><p class="p1">He sort of hates these later starts. When he starts at noon, he goes until seven, which means he’s working through the hottest part of the day, out on the pier where shade is hard to find. As the afternoon crawls on, the heat settles into the city, sinking into the wooden boards under his feet and the pores of his skin while Daichi counts the minutes until seven o’clock. Near the end of his shift, a shadow falls over him.</p><p class="p1">“Hey, can I help you?” he asks, squinting into the sinking sun to see—</p><p class="p1">“Daichi!” Koushi greets him with a warm smile. “Working hard?”</p><p class="p1">“Try hardly working,” Tetsurou heckles him from the other side of the fence.</p><p class="p1">“Shut up!”</p><p class="p1">“These still aren’t fixed!”</p><p class="p1">“Because it’s like ten years old!”</p><p class="p1">Koushi chuckles. “I should leave you to it, then,” he says with a wave of his hand. “Tooru and Hajime didn’t know what time you were working today, but I wanted to see the pier before it got too dark.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh, when it’s dark is when it’s the best. But actually, I get off in…” Daichi checks his watch again. “Three minutes. Want me to give you a tour?”</p><p class="p1">“Oh, just go already, lover boy.” Tetsurou makes a shooing motion with his hand and winks. “Three more minutes isn’t gonna get this thing fixed.”</p><p class="p1">“Lover boy?” Daichi squawks, but Koushi just keeps laughing.</p><p class="p1">“Does he leave work early to give tours of the pier to boys this often?” he calls to Tetsurou.</p><p class="p1">Tetsurou cackles and slaps his thigh. “I like you!”</p><p class="p1">Daichi grabs his rag and wipes his hands off before Koushi’s grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the crowd. “Show me everything!”</p><p class="p1">So Daichi does. They start at the beginning, slipping past families at the ticket booths and children running around with stuffed animals won from the midway games. Daichi rattles off some facts he knows, more interested in looking at Koushi’s expression. His face is open, awed, like he’s a little kid seeing a carnival for the first time. For all Daichi knows, he could be. They pass all the rides, the ones Daichi knows inside and out—literally, from all the hours he’s spent fixing and maintaining each and every one of them—and somewhere between the carousel and the bumper cars, Koushi’s hand drifts from holding his wrist to gripping Daichi’s, interlacing their fingers. It feels intimate, comfortable. It’s such a tiny display of affection but privately, Daichi thinks he wouldn’t have been bold enough to try it himself. He just holds Koushi’s hand tighter, walking by his side as they reach the huge wheel with the clear pods.</p><p class="p1">“A Ferris wheel!”</p><p class="p1">“That’s no ordinary Ferris wheel. Up at the top there is the best view in the whole city,” Daichi tells him. “Especially at night. We’ve gotta take you up there. Are you afraid of heights?”</p><p class="p1">Koushi shakes his head with a smile. “I wanna go. Later?”</p><p class="p1">“Later,” Daichi promises him, and they keep walking. The sweet, slightly greasy smell of fair food wafts is thick in the air, and as cloying as it is, Daichi’s come to love it. It’s familiar, it means summer, it means home. “Hey, pink or blue?”</p><p class="p1">“Hmm?” Koushi tears his gaze from a child with a stuffed animal taller than her. “What for?”</p><p class="p1">“It’s a surprise.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi grins as they stop at the cotton candy booth, and Daichi knows it’s a terrible attempt at a surprise. “Then blue.”</p><p class="p1">“Hey, Ryu!” Daichi calls to the man working the booth. “I need blue!”</p><p class="p1">“You got it!” Ryu flashes him a thumbs-up and immediately tosses a bag of the pastel blue sweet stuff at them.</p><p class="p1">Koushi reaches up and catches it with a grin. “Thanks!”</p><p class="p1">Ryu leans out the window to wave. “So who’s this?”</p><p class="p1">“He’s a friend of Tooru and Hajime. His name’s Koushi,” Daichi says. “Koushi, Ryu’s a friend from high school.”</p><p class="p1">“He was my volleyball captain!” Ryu adds. “And a great one, too!”</p><p class="p1">“Daichi!” Koushi smacks him in the arm. “You didn’t tell me you were the captain!”</p><p class="p1">“Ow!” Daichi rubs the spot where Koushi hit him. He looks sweet, but he packs a hell of a punch. There’ll be a bruise there later, he knows it. “When would it have come up?”</p><p class="p1">“I don’t know, maybe yesterday when we were playing volleyball?” Koushi shakes his head and laughs, ripping a hole in the plastic bag. “This is mine now.”</p><p class="p1">“What—hey!” Daichi calls after him as Koushi takes off with the cotton candy. Still, he can’t help a smile.</p><p class="p1">“Daichi’s in loooooove,” Ryu sings.</p><p class="p1">“No!”</p><p class="p1">“You should see your face, dude. You look like a schmuck from a Hallmark movie.” Ryu cackles at him once more before a family comes up to the booth, and Daichi takes that as his cue to leave. And get the cotton candy back from Koushi.</p><p class="p1">He finds Koushi chatting with—oh, no, he’s found Tetsurou. Or Tetsurou found him. Either way, the two of them interacting can only spell doom for Daichi. “Koushi!”</p><p class="p1">Koushi and Tetsurou both turn to look at him with identical troubling smirks. “Well there you are, Daichi,” Tetsurou drawls. “I was just talking about you.”</p><p class="p1">“It had better be all good things,” Daichi grumbles.</p><p class="p1">“Hey, now what fun would that be?” Tetsurou drapes an arm over Koushi’s shoulders. “What, afraid he won’t like you once he hears the honest, unfiltered truth about Daichi Sawamura?”</p><p class="p1">“I want all the dirty details,” Koushi says, hazel eyes glittering with mischief. “You know. Embarrassing moments, what he was like as a kid, if he’s still a virgin—”</p><p class="p1">“Koushi!” Daichi buries his face in his hands. “Tetsurou, if you even <em>think</em> about answering any of those questions, I’m telling Keishin to fire you.”</p><p class="p1">“He loves me.” Tetsurou grins. “Fortunately—or maybe unfortunately, I don’t know what you’re into—our little Daichi here is <em>not</em> a virgin.”</p><p class="p1">“What do you mean, unfortunately?” Daichi squawks.</p><p class="p1">Tetsurou gives a lazy shrug. “Some people get off on fucking virgins.”</p><p class="p1">“Can’t say I’m one of them, though,” Koushi says cheerily. “I like a man with experience.”</p><p class="p1">Tetsurou claps Daichi on the back. Daichi chokes on his own spit. “Then you’re in luck!”</p><p class="p1">“Koushi, we should go!” Daichi tugs on his wrist, imploring him to move away and thus end Tetsurou’s torture, but Koushi’s eyes glint as he smiles and shakes his head.</p><p class="p1">“Ah, but we’re just getting to know each other, Daichi. Don’t you want me to get to know your friends?”</p><p class="p1">“Friends is a strong word,” Daichi grumbles, but he sighs and lets Koushi drag him back to the conversation.</p><p class="p1">Fortunately, rescue comes in the form of Morisuke sneaking up on Tetsurou and poking him in the sides.</p><p class="p1">The shriek Tetsurou lets out could rival the screams audible from the thrill rides.</p><p class="p1">Koushi bursts out in giggles as Tetsurou pouts and demands a kiss. Morisuke takes pity on him, standing up on the balls of his feet for a quick peck before turning back to Koushi. “Sorry to take him away from you, but this one owes me a date tonight.”</p><p class="p1">“No, please do,” Daichi says. “Where are you guys headed to?”</p><p class="p1">“I heard they got a new restaurant inside the Sand Fox,” Morisuke says. “Like, pan-Asian or something. I think it’s called Iron Wall.”</p><p class="p1">“Let me know how it is. I’ll see if Tooru and Hajime want to check it out.”</p><p class="p1">Tetsurou raises his hand in a two-finger salute. “Later.”</p><p class="p1">Then, finally, they’re free, and Daichi can relax without fear of Tetsurou outing his deepest secrets.</p><p class="p1">“So, when are Tetsurou and I going to hang out so he can tell me your deepest, darkest secrets?” Koushi chirps. “I like them.”</p><p class="p1">Daichi laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “They’re good guys, both of them. I think we’ve just known each other way too long.”</p><p class="p1">“How long is too long?”</p><p class="p1">“Longer than I’ve known Hajime and Tooru. I’m pretty sure our moms were friends when they were all pregnant with us,” Daichi says with a laugh. “We’re only a few months apart.”</p><p class="p1">They’ve nearly reached the end of the pier now, where the more vertically-inclined tourists can choose to take helicopter tours of the city. The helipad is quiet now, which either means Koutarou is off today or he’s already giving a tour. “They have weddings here some nights,” Daichi tells him.</p><p class="p1">“Only in the summers?”</p><p class="p1">“Mostly spring and summer, yeah. Sometimes you’ll get an adventurous couple who doesn’t mind the cold and will want a January wedding out here. I’ve always thought a classic June wedding would be nice, though.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi shoots him a smirk. “Damn, buy me dinner first.”</p><p class="p1">“I—” Daichi feels his cheeks heat up red, and Koushi just laughs. It seems Koushi’s always doing that, it seems—making him flustered and then laughing. Tooru likes doing the same thing, but Tooru’s teasing doesn’t give him a fluttery feeling in his stomach.</p><p class="p1">He’d be happy to suffer a tomato face all summer if it means Koushi will keep laughing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">The days begin blending into one another after that in the way that summer days tend to; every day is some combination of going to work, getting teased about his “mystery man” by Tetsurou and Morisuke, hanging out with Koushi, Tooru, and Hajime, and being proud of himself when he makes Koushi smile or laugh. There’s something extra for him to look forward to when he’s free from his work duties, and—well, it’s not that he didn’t look forward to hanging out before, when it was just Tooru and Hajime, but they didn’t have Koushi with them before.</p><p class="p1">He picks up Lev’s shift one night and ends up staying late, until long after all the tourists have gone back to their hotel rooms or vacation rentals. He feels bad that he’s had to cancel his plans with Koushi and Tooru and Hajime, but he knows they’ll have plenty of other nights to spend together. Not to mention, Morisuke would have taken his kneecaps for leaving him on late-night duty with only Tetsurou. What he doesn’t expect is for Koushi to visit him at 11:45 at night.</p><p class="p1">He’s inspecting the carousel with Morisuke when he hears Koushi laugh, followed by Tetsurou’s disgusting cackle. And he’s learned, after the first time he took Koushi to the pier, that Koushi and Tetsurou together can’t possibly mean anything good. “Hold on,” he mutters, thrusting his wrench into Morisuke’s hand.</p><p class="p1">“I understand,” Morisuke says with a long-suffering sigh.</p><p class="p1">Tetsurou grins at Daichi as he runs toward them. “What’s got you in such a hurry?”</p><p class="p1">“Koushi, don’t listen to anything he says! He’s probably telling you terrible things about me!” </p><p class="p1">Koushi grins. “So you’re asking me to ignore the story I just heard about you getting drunk and trying to free all the hermit crabs from the gift shop at four in the morning?”</p><p class="p1">Daichi pauses. “Well…okay, that’s actually not a bad story.”</p><p class="p1">“I want the bad ones!” Koushi demands. “The embarrassing ones, the gross ones, the risque ones—”</p><p class="p1">“I don’t have any of those! And Tetsurou, I thought you were fixing the dragon coaster!”</p><p class="p1">“Finished it,” Tetsurou smirks. “Now I’m just waiting on you two so we can check the Ferris wheel, and the faster we do that, the faster we can all go home with our boyfriends.”</p><p class="p1">“He’s…” Daichi sighs, not even bothering to protest and say they’re not boyfriends. “I think we’re just about done here.”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, looks good to me.” Morisuke grabs a rag to wipe his hands off. “Ferris wheel?”</p><p class="p1">The three of them head over to the older Ferris wheel, Koushi trailing behind them. “You have two Ferris wheels?” he asks.</p><p class="p1">“Yup,” Morisuke says. “This one’s the classic one, and then you have the big one, with the clear pods. They have other technicians who maintain that, so this is the one we get.”</p><p class="p1">As he explains the wheels, Daichi joins Tetsurou at the Ferris wheel. Tetsurou starts the ride, letting Daichi inspect each gondola one by one and tighten up any bolts that need tightening, clean off the seats, and make sure everything’s in working order. It’s tedious work, but it has to be done.</p><p class="p1">“This one looks like it’s hanging a little crooked,” Tetsurou says once they get to the last gondola.</p><p class="p1">Daichi steps back and squints at it. “I don’t see it, but I trust you. It probably just got shifted a little if one side always gets more weight than the other. Shouldn’t be a problem, though, as long as everything’s tightened up. Which you just did.”</p><p class="p1">“Mind testing it?”</p><p class="p1">“Got it.” Daichi climbs into the gondola and chooses a side at random. “Are you gonna get in?”</p><p class="p1">“I need to stay outside and check it out. Hey, Koushi!” Tetsurou calls to him. “Wanna help? Call it science.”</p><p class="p1">Morisuke excuses himself, jogging off as Koushi comes over. “What do you need?”</p><p class="p1">“Can you do us a big favor and sit across from Daichi? We’re trying to see what’s wrong with the gondola.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi shrugs and climbs in too, sitting on the seat across from Daichi.</p><p class="p1">Tetsurou scrunches his mouth to one side as he studies it from his spot near the control panel. “Huh. That’s so weird, it looks fine now. Can you—”</p><p class="p1">Whatever Tetsurou says next gets drowned out by a surprised screech as the Ferris wheel starts moving. Daichi slams the little safety door shut and grips the edge of the cab.</p><p class="p1">Across from him, Koushi just looks amused. “You scream really loud.”</p><p class="p1">Daichi rubs the back of his head. “That was me?”</p><p class="p1">“That was in fact you. Have you never been on a Ferris wheel before?”</p><p class="p1">“I have! I just didn’t expect this one to start <em>moving</em>!”</p><p class="p1">The wheel keeps turning, taking them higher and higher and higher, until it stops with them at the very top.</p><p class="p1">“What the—” Daichi grips the edge of the gondola and peers down to Tetsurou, who’s wandering away from the control panel. “What happened?”</p><p class="p1">“No idea, my dude,” Tetsurou yells back. “That’s so weird.”</p><p class="p1">“Why did you <em>start it while we were on it</em>?” Daichi shrieks.</p><p class="p1">“Don’t know what to tell you, man, it just happened.” Tetsurou shrugs a little too casually to be natural. “I’m gonna check with Mori, see if he knows.”</p><p class="p1">“Can you get us <em>down</em>?”</p><p class="p1">“Gotta ask Mori!” Tetsurou has the nerve to wave at them as he wanders away.</p><p class="p1">Daichi huffs and collapses into the seat across from Koushi, gut lurching as the gondola sways. “Fuck, sorry.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi laughs, but he’s still clinging to the side of the gondola with a white-knuckled grip. “Aw, don’t take it out on Tetsu.”</p><p class="p1">“What do you mean, don’t take it out on Tetsu? And since when did he let you call him Tetsu?” The moment Daichi gets down from here, he is going to murder Tetsurou Kuroo. With the first tool he picks up. Final accusation? Daichi Sawamura, on the pier, with the wrench.</p><p class="p1">“Because,” Koushi tells him, letting go of the side and shifting forward in his seat, “I think he meant well.”</p><p class="p1">“He meant well by sticking us at the top of a Ferris wheel on an empty pier at…” Daichi checks his watch. “Midnight?”</p><p class="p1">“We’re alone at the top of a Ferris wheel on an empty pier at midnight,” Koushi repeats, lips quirking up into a grin. “It’s a beautiful night, you can see the lights along the boardwalk, you can hear the waves. Wouldn’t you say it’s…”</p><p class="p1">“A disaster?”</p><p class="p1">Koushi sighs. “<em>You’re</em> a disaster,” he mumbles, and leans forward.</p><p class="p1">The gondola rocks again, and before Daichi can recover from the mini heart attack triggered by the motion, Koushi’s lips are on his, soft and warm. He gasps, hands flapping uselessly at his sides for a second before he reaches to pull Koushi closer, but he’s too late; Koushi sits back before Daichi’s hands can find his waist, cheeks pink.</p><p class="p1">“Oh,” he croaks out.</p><p class="p1">“Oh?” Koushi’s smile wilts, and he presses his lips together, looking down at his lap. “Shit, Daichi, I’m really sorry, I swear I thought—you’ve been so nice, and you keep looking at me all the time, and I really thought—”</p><p class="p1">Halfway through Koushi’s ramble, Daichi’s brain <em>finally </em>catches up. “No, no, wait!” he interrupts, waving his hands. “I just—you kissed me.”</p><p class="p1">“Well, yeah.” Koushi frowns. “I’m sorry.”</p><p class="p1">“No, don’t! I—You—Tetsu—” He reaches for Koushi’s hands, taking one in both of his own, and kisses him. Koushi lets out a noise of surprise that sounds vaguely like a squeak—or maybe it’s the squeak of metal on metal as the gondola moves with the sudden shift of weight. Either way, Koushi’s kissing him back, mouth curving into a smile under his.</p><p class="p1">When he pulls back, Koushi gives him a grin that makes his stomach swoop. Or, wait—no, the Ferris wheel is moving again. They’re finally on their way down.</p><p class="p1">Tetsurou’s standing by the ring toss booth and has the audacity to grin at them. Even Morisuke, who Daichi thought would be on his side, looks irritatingly unconcerned. “Have fun?” Tetsurou asks.</p><p class="p1">And Daichi gets it.</p><p class="p1">But not before Koushi apparently does.</p><p class="p1">Koushi bursts into howling laughter, eyes scrunching up as he hugs his stomach and cackles. ”You—you guys! You guys set us up!” he exclaims.</p><p class="p1">“Guilty as charged. You’re welcome, Sawamura.” Tetsurou smirks, dragging out Daichi’s last name in that annoying little way of his. “You can thank me later.”</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Daichi forgives Tetsurou and Morisuke for their trickery pretty quickly, because their forced Ferris wheel kiss was apparently the dam breaking for all forms of physical affection. Koushi keeps kissing him—when they meet for the day’s activities, when Daichi offers to share his funnel cakes, in between rallies in the sand. And in return, Daichi gets brave and starts holding his hand as they walk along the boardwalk and by the ocean.</p><p class="p1">It’s all going well. Too well.</p><p class="p1">Daichi does have the dim thought in the back of his mind that this should be scary. That this intimacy is a slippery slope, that they’ve passed the point of no return, that he shouldn’t be letting things go this far and this quickly. But he also has the thought, put in his head by countless books and movies, that this is the start of something wonderful and magical and life-changing.</p><p class="p1">But life isn’t a movie, right? Even though the weeks pass by like a movie montage of summer bliss? They’re playing beach volleyball, taking strolls along the boardwalk as the night cools things down, trying new restaurants. Their outings with Hajime and Tooru turn into double dates, more or less, especially when they go to the arcade together and everyone’s competitive streak comes out. Daichi even spends a day off teaching Koushi how to surf. Koushi falls more than he keeps his balance, claiming Daichi’s abs to be “too distracting.”</p><p class="p1">It’s going too well. It has to be.</p><p class="p1">On the Fourth of July, at Tooru’s insistence, the four of them stake out a spot on the beach to see the fireworks.</p><p class="p1">“We could have just watched them from my balcony, you know,” Daichi mutters as they squeeze into a tiny rectangle of space in between a family with four young kids and a group of teenage boys in New York Giants jerseys.</p><p class="p1">“But this is the quintessential Fourth of July experience!” Tooru insists, smoothing the beach towel out.</p><p class="p1">“I read we could have watched them from the beer garden at the TK,” Koushi points out.</p><p class="p1">“Bleh, none of you are any fun,” Tooru mumbles, leaning against Iwaizumi’s chest.</p><p class="p1">“He does this every year,” Daichi says with a sigh. Koushi settles into him, nudging at his arm until he wraps it around Koushi’s shoulders. “We’re used to it.”</p><p class="p1">“I like it out here. It’s more fun with lots of people,” Koushi says, fingers walking lazily across Daichi’s chest. “Do you have the snacks?”</p><p class="p1">“Right here.” Daichi drags the cooler toward them with his free hand, popping the lid open. “What do you want?”</p><p class="p1">Koushi sticks his hand in and rummages around until he finds the cotton candy. “Aha!”</p><p class="p1">“You eat so much of that stuff.” Daichi shakes his head as Koushi tears off a handful from the blue side. “Your tongue’s going to be blue.”</p><p class="p1">“You should have the pink side. Then when we make out, we can make our tongues turn purple.”</p><p class="p1">“Koushi!”</p><p class="p1">Koushi laughs and presses a sweet kiss to his cheek. “You’re so easy to fluster, why wouldn’t I?”</p><p class="p1">The first firework explodes with a thunderous boom, and a few children in the crowd scream. Gold and white sparkles fill the sky as the crowd oohs and ahhs.</p><p class="p1">Koushi hums, resting his head on Daichi’s shoulder. “I love them.”</p><p class="p1"><em>I love </em>you, Daichi thinks suddenly.</p><p class="p1">Wait.</p><p class="p1"><em>Fuck</em>.</p><p class="p1">Later that night, Tooru pulls Koushi ahead to gossip, leaving Daichi to walk behind them with Hajime. “So,” they both say at the same time.</p><p class="p1">“You first,” Hajime says, sticking his hands in his pockets.</p><p class="p1">“No, you. Mine’s…” Daichi glances at Koushi, who’s whispering something to Tooru. “I’ll say mine after.”</p><p class="p1">Hajime follows his gaze and nods. “I was just going to ask if you were still game for casino night. We were looking at Saturday night. Not this week, next week.”</p><p class="p1">“I should be free. I’ll ask Keishin for the day off, and even if I don’t get it, I’ll just trade with Lev, since he owes me.”</p><p class="p1">“Sounds good.” Hajime shrugs. “I can make the dinner reservations and everything. The usual time and the usual place?”</p><p class="p1">“With the usual suspects.” Daichi grins, knocking his elbow into Hajime’s.</p><p class="p1">“Your turn. You look all serious.”</p><p class="p1">“You <em>always </em>look all serious.”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, yeah, okay. But really.”</p><p class="p1">Daichi sighs. “I really like Koushi,” he admits. “And there’s a part of me that feels like things are going really well, and another part of me that feels like things are going <em>too</em> well. You know what I mean? I know he’s only here for the summer, and I’m trying not to be unrealistic here, but movies about stuff like this never end well.”</p><p class="p1">Hajime’s quiet for a moment, the only sound coming from his flip-flops smacking against the boardwalk. Then he says, “First off, you sound like you watch too many movies. Who’s to say that just because Koushi’s only here for the summer, that has to mean you guys are doomed or whatever? I mean, come on. Tooru and I are only here for the summer but we stayed friends, right?”</p><p class="p1">“Right,” Daichi says after a pause, realizing Hajime expects an answer.</p><p class="p1">“So why don’t you think you can do it with Koushi?”</p><p class="p1">“I just…” Daichi shakes his head. “Like I said, it feels like it’s going too well.”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, that’s bullshit, too. No such thing as <em>too well</em>. Look.” Hajime huffs. “Do you like him?”</p><p class="p1">Well, <em>obviously</em> Daichi likes Koushi. The problem isn’t that he doesn’t like Koushi. No, Koushi’s fantastic. He’s cheerful and sweet and puts up with Tooru and Hajime, which means he’s got a wellspring of patience. His laugh is clear like a cloudless sky and when he smiles, it’s like every firefly in the dunes lit up at once.</p><p class="p1">The problem is that Koushi, like Tooru and Hajime, is going to leave come the end of August. This…whatever it would be, a hookup or a fling or something, has an expiration date. There are eight weeks left of this summer. Daichi’s afraid he’ll be hooked on this boy and eight weeks won’t be enough.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, I do.”</p><p class="p1">“And are you happy?”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah.”</p><p class="p1">“Then be content. You know you’re limited on time, right? Then don’t waste the time you have. If you’re happy, then be happy.”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, okay,” Daichi mutters, watching Tooru loop his arm through Koushi’s as they skip ahead. “I think I can do that.”</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ok NOW we are getting spicy hehe</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">When the next Saturday night rolls around, Daichi’s in the bathroom swiping gel through his hair when the buzzer goes off. He runs out, socks slipping on the hardwood floor in his haste to reach the call box.</p><p class="p1">“We’re here with your boy, Daichi!” Tooru singsongs, voice crackling through the speaker.</p><p class="p1">Daichi jabs the access button, biting his lip to keep from smiling. Moments later, he hears familiar voices coming from down the hallway. “I’ll be ready to go soon, just give me a minute to finish my hair and then I’ll—” Daichi opens the door and stops short as his gaze lands on Koushi.</p><p class="p1">Koushi’s in a lavender button-down shirt tucked into a pair of dark gray dress pants, and he’s fussing with a dark blue tie as the door swings open. He looks expensive and powerful and still undeniably pretty. Daichi gulps. Dress pants aren’t great at hiding boners.</p><p class="p1">“Well? Are you going to let us inside?” Toorupouts.</p><p class="p1">“Ah…right, come in.” Daichi steps aside, catching Koushi’s gaze as the three men enter his apartment. “You all look great.”</p><p class="p1">“Thank you, thank you.” Tooru does a little twirl, black tie flying out as he spins. “Me and Hajime match, aren’t we adorable?”</p><p class="p1">“Sickeningly,” Hajime mutters, though there’s a look of fondness. His tie and Tooru’s shirt are the same shade of aqua—they look like the definition of a power couple. Now he wishes he’d thought to wear something purple himself…</p><p class="p1">He shakes his head, disguising the motion by running his fingers through the gel still drying in his hair. He and Koushi aren’t a couple, so there’s no need for them to match. Right?</p><p class="p1">Koushi steps in front of him while he’s slipping his shoes on. “You look good,” he says simply. “Very sharp. Like a Japanese James Bond.”</p><p class="p1">Daichi laughs at that. “I could do with less excitement in my casino nights than Bond is used to.”</p><p class="p1">“You don’t like a little casino action?” Koushi’s mouth curves into a smirk. “Shame, it seems like the perfect place.”</p><p class="p1">“Okay, okay you two!” Tooru chirps, clapping his hands. “Ready to go? We have dinner reservations and I won’t have you ragamuffins making us late!”</p><p class="p1">Daichi grabs his keys, pats his pockets to make sure he has his phone and wallet, and heads out. Tooru and Hajime skip down the hall, leaving Koushi and Daichi behind; Daichi can’t say he minds, really, especially not when Koushi winds a hand around his tie and tugs him in for a brush of lips.</p><p class="p1">“Is that the way to start a classy night out?” Daichi says with a grin.</p><p class="p1">Koushi laughs, straightening out Daichi’s tie and letting his hands linger, warm where they press against Daichi’s chest. “Kissing isn’t classy?” he teases.</p><p class="p1">It is, but the way Koushi had reeled him in makes him think decidedly <em>unclassy</em> thoughts. “We should catch up to them.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi smiles and reaches for Daichi’s hand, entwining their fingers before he’s taking off, making Daichi trip over his feet and jog to keep up. “Let’s break the bank!”</p><p class="p1">The hot midsummer night is stuffy, making sweat bead under Daichi’s collar as soon as they step outside, but Koushi doesn’t seem to mind it one bit, keeping their hands clasped together as they stroll down the boardwalk. Up ahead, Tooru and Hajime are walking similarly hand-in-hand, Tooru gesticulating wildly with his free hand.</p><p class="p1">“So. Tell me about where we’re going.” Koushi grins at Daichi, face awash in the glow of the boardwalk lights. “Is it really fancy? Have you won there before? Oh, shit, should I know how to count cards? Is it just a casino or is there nightlife too?”</p><p class="p1">Daichi raises an eyebrow at the spitfire line of questioning. “Have you ever actually been to a casino?”</p><p class="p1">“Nope!” Koushi exclaims, popping the ‘p’. “But I’ve seen <em>Ocean’s Eleven</em> and <em>Casino Royale</em>. And <em>21</em>.”</p><p class="p1">“It’s not gonna be like any of those movies, but you’ll have fun,” Daichi tells him as a kid on a skateboard almost skates right into him. “None of us know how to count cards. Hajime and I mostly just go for the slot machines and maybe roulette or something so we don’t spend too much. Tooru, on the other hand…” Daichi chuckles. “Don’t know if you noticed, but his family’s pretty well-off.”</p><p class="p1">“I’ve gathered,” Koushi says. “He never really talks about his family, but I can tell they have money.”</p><p class="p1">“Tooru likes to put aside some money just for the annual casino trip every summer,” Daichi says with a sigh. “So by the time casino night gets here, he’s got a few hundred to burn. He usually goes to the craps table.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi laughs. “He’s got the personality for craps.”</p><p class="p1">Up ahead, they can see the glittering marquis of The Sand Fox, the hotel towers illuminated by the thousands of multicolored twinkling lights. Hajime holds the door for all of them on the way in, and instantly they’re hit with air conditioning and noise.</p><p class="p1">Walking into a casino is still an assault on the senses, even after all the times Daichi has come, but he can only imagine how Koushi must feel. Koushi’s looking around like a child at Disney World for the first time, eyes wide as he takes it all in. The floor is right in front of them, designated by special black and gold carpeting, and slot machines take up every bit of it, each one emitting its own attention-grabbing music and sound effects.</p><p class="p1">“Holy shit,” is all Koushi says, and Hajime laughs, not unkindly.</p><p class="p1">“Welcome to the Sand Fox,” he says.</p><p class="p1">Koushi’s still gawking when his eyes land on the informational map right in front of them. “There’s a map,” he mumbles. “This place is so big it needs a map.”</p><p class="p1">“Come on, we’ll be late!” Tooru takes Koushi by the arm and starts guiding them through the casino. They pass through the gaming floor, slot machines set up in pockets in between restaurants and shops and bars, like little islands of hedonism. Daichi’s never had fantastic luck here himself, but more often than not, he leaves with just a little more than he’d come with. Tooru still makes fun of him for panicking and immediately cashing out after coming out $5 on top in a game of Baccarat.</p><p class="p1">They stop in front of a restaurant called The Swan, an elegant-looking place near the Keno tables with swirling purple script on the sign. A tall man in a tuxedo greets them at the host stand. “Reservation for four for Oikawa,” Tooru tells him. The man nods, leading them through the restaurant to a cozy little booth toward the back, away from the noise of the casino floor. Tooru slides in one side and Hajime the other, leaving Suga and Daichi to split up.</p><p class="p1">“You two don’t want to sit together?” Daichi asks, taking a seat next to Hajime.</p><p class="p1">“I like being able to see him,” Tooru says with a smile.</p><p class="p1">Hajime scoffs. “You really think I want to watch you eat?”</p><p class="p1">“You think I’m cute when I eat!”</p><p class="p1">“I’ve never said or implied that in my life.”</p><p class="p1">“Hajime!” Tooru pouts.</p><p class="p1">“Well, luckily for you,” Koushi says, not-so-gently kicking Daichi’s shin under the table, “I’m the cutest eater at this table.”</p><p class="p1">“You are not! I was there for that pizza party!” Tooru flicks his napkin at Koushi’s face.</p><p class="p1">While the two of them bicker, Hajime grabs the wine list from the end of the table and offers it to Daichi. “I was thinking about getting a bottle of Tooru’s favorite Malbec. Want to try it with us?”</p><p class="p1">“Sure, I’ll have some. Koushi?” Daichi taps Koushi’s hand for his attention. “Are you a wine-drinker?”</p><p class="p1">“Depends on the wine. I’m kind of picky about wine,” Koushi says. “Why, are you having any?”</p><p class="p1">Tooru lights up. “Is Hajime ordering my favorite Malbec?” he coos. “See, you do love me.”</p><p class="p1">“I really do have to, to put up with tipsy Tooru,” Hajime assures him.</p><p class="p1">Tooru does in fact get tipsy over the course of dinner. He and Hajime split a bottle of Malbec, and Daichi and Koushi end up drinking a little less than half of another.</p><p class="p1">By the time the waiter clears the table, Daichi feels pleasantly warm—not quite tipsy, but to the point where everything just feels <em>nice</em>. And Koushi, sitting just two feet from him, smiling brightly at him, only adds to the high. They decide to skip dessert in favor of hitting the slots, so Hajime pays the bill and leads a quietly giggling Tooru out. Daichi clears his throat as he inches out of the booth, offering Koushi a hand.</p><p class="p1">“Such a gentleman,” Koushi teases him, placing his hand in Daichi’s palm and standing up. “Did we lose Hajime and Tooru already?” Tooru laughs then, the sound clear as a bell even over the noise of the slot machines. “Found them!” Koushi exclaims, tugging Daichi along with him as they join the other couple at a row of machines.</p><p class="p1">“Wait, do you know how to gamble, Koushi?” Tooru asks, plopping into the seat next to Koushi.</p><p class="p1">Daichi loses half his money in the slots and decides to call it quits before he burns through all of it. Koushi, on the other hand, is having pretty decent luck. He’s ahead, at least, when he cashes out and the machine spits out a voucher. “I don’t like slots,” Koushi declares, very carefully folding up the voucher and tucking it in Daichi’s chest pocket. “They’re mean. Too easy to lose money. That’s why I’m cashing out before I lose any more.”</p><p class="p1">Tooru fishes the voucher out and squints at it. “Holy shit, Koushi, you won forty dollars!”</p><p class="p1">“What? Give me that! I thought I lost money!” Koushi makes a grab for the voucher. “Oh my god. I can’t read.”</p><p class="p1">“Me either! But you know what that means.” Tooru grins. “Roulette!”</p><p class="p1">“Roulette!” Koushi exclaims, throwing his arms around Tooru and laughing drunkenly into his ear. “Yes! Let’s go!”</p><p class="p1">“Oh my god, he’s wine-drunk,” Daichi murmurs, despite being wine-drunk himself. “Should we go get them?”</p><p class="p1">It’s a testament to how drunk <em>Hajime</em> is that he doesn’t scowl and mumble something under his breath about Tooru making a scene. Instead, he just laughs along with them and slaps Daichi on the shoulder. “They’re having fun,” Hajime says, his words only slurring a little. “Koushi’s—Koushi’s good for him. No, no, wait. He’s bad for him,” Hajime corrects himself with a small frown.</p><p class="p1">“Huh? Koushi’s not good?” Daichi says as he wanders through the casino with Hajime.</p><p class="p1">“No,” Hajime says. “He’s the devil in disguise. Teams up with Tooru all the time to make my life hell. He looks like an angel, though, so you can’t even stay mad at him. ‘Specially when he smiles at you.”</p><p class="p1">Oh yes, Daichi knows very well the power of Koushi’s smile. He wonders if Koushi himself knows it. Probably. That’s probably why he’s like this.</p><p class="p1">They find Koushi and Tooru at a lively roulette table, each with a pile of chips in front of them. “If he gambles away the money we’ve been saving for textbooks, I’m going to kill him,” Hajime says blithely, before buying some chips for himself. Daichi does the same and finds himself a spot at the table as a group of people leave, squeezing in next to Koushi. “Hey there, handsome.”</p><p class="p1">Koushi blinks up at him blankly for a moment before breaking into a grin. “Daichi! You made it!”</p><p class="p1">“I made it!” Daichi places his own bet on the table. “Do you know the rules?”</p><p class="p1">“Nope!”</p><p class="p1">“Did Tooru show you how to bet?”</p><p class="p1">“Nope!” Koushi says again.</p><p class="p1">“I—okay, we’ll go over that next round, then,” Daichi mutters as Koushi bravely places a pile of chips on 2. Daichi places a few chips on 1st 12, while across from him, he spots Hajime and Tooru bickering over where to place their bet before going with evens. The ball lands on 24.</p><p class="p1">“Okay, so. You don’t just have to pick one number, you know,” Daichi explains as soon as the chips are cleared. “You can bet on whether it’ll be red or black. Or even or odd. Or you can even choose the range of numbers. Like the first or second or third 12. Or if you put it on the—”</p><p class="p1">“Okay, I got it,” Koushi interrupts him, immediately plunking another pile of chips directly on 2 again.</p><p class="p1">“Anywhere else?”</p><p class="p1">“I can do that?”</p><p class="p1">“Well, yeah. If you’re really stuck on 2, you could play on some of the other spaces that include 2. Like evens, or 1st 12. Or you could do…whatever Tooru’s doing.” Daichi points across the table, where Hajime is facepalming while he watches Tooru stack his chips to build a little square around 17.</p><p class="p1">“What the <em>fuck</em> are you doing?”</p><p class="p1">“Making a fortress,” Tooru answers in a prissy tone as a cocktail waitress offers him a drink. “Thank you.” He winks as he places a chip on her tray, and she blushes.</p><p class="p1">“Stop that.” Hajime smacks him over the back of the head.</p><p class="p1">Tooru leans in with a lazy smirk, but before he can say whatever sexually charged retort is surely on the tip of his tongue, the croupier—a tall, good-looking young man with dark gray hair—spins the wheel and tosses the ball in. Koushi’s face is alight with excitement as he watches the ball spin around and around, and lands on…</p><p class="p1">“Oh, so close!” Koushi pouts as 3 comes up.</p><p class="p1">“Hey, but you didn’t lose everything. Since you put some chips on 1st 12, you’ll get something.” Koushi’s still pouting, but he bets on 2 again.</p><p class="p1">“Lucky number?” Tooru asks him from across the table.</p><p class="p1">“High school volleyball number!” Koushi grins, his smile brighter than the crystal chandeliers hanging above them. Tooru once again builds his fortress around 17; Hajime and Daichi play it safer, scattering their chips around the table. They keep winning just enough back to justify staying for ‘one more round,’ as Koushi keeps asking for, and when he’s warm and soft and pressed up against Daichi like this, who is he to say no? He keeps centering his bets on the number 2, insisting that it’ll be lucky next round. Daichi’s just grossly fond.</p><p class="p1">Hajime, on the other hand, looks like he’s about to smack Tooru in the back of the head for his fixation on the number 17. “My fortress is going to pay off,” Tooru keeps insisting, intently stacking his chips.</p><p class="p1">“It better,” Hajime tells him.</p><p class="p1">The dealer spins once more, and Daichi glues his eyes to the little ball as it rolls to a stop.</p><p class="p1">It’s 2.</p><p class="p1">“Holy <em>shit</em>,” Daichi mutters, gaze darting straight to Koushi, who’s staring at the wheel with eyes the size of saucers.</p><p class="p1">“Wait.” He looks at Daichi, then across the table to a gaping Tooru. “I won?”</p><p class="p1">“You won!” Tooru exclaims. “Take your chips!”</p><p class="p1">“Oh my god, I won!” Koushi cheers, throwing his arms around Daichi’s neck.</p><p class="p1">Daichi laughs, hugging him close and pressing a celebratory kiss to his lips. There’s something new in this kiss, something warmer and darker that’s tempting him to kiss deeper, ask for more.</p><p class="p1">“Get a room, lovebirds,” Tooru teases them, despite Hajime tucking his chin over his shoulder in a way that’s just a touch too intimate for a casino floor.</p><p class="p1">Daichi opens his mouth to make a retort before realizing they literally <em>can</em> just get a room. They’re in a hotel, after all. He glances at Koushi, who gives him a heavy-lidded smile. Okay, so this is happening. “Let’s go,” Daichi whispers, taking Koushi by the hand and almost dragging him away from the table. They stop just long enough for both of them to cash out, then head straight to the reception desk to ask for a room.</p><p class="p1">He can feel Koushi practically vibrating next to him, and he knows he’s just barely concealing his need, too—he just hopes the calm smile he gives the receptionist when he takes the room key is enough of a mask.</p><p class="p1">They all but stumble into the elevator, Koushi jamming the door close button and pushing Daichi up against the wall the moment the doors shut. “Daichi, Daichi, Daichi, please,” he’s chanting, slotting a leg between Daichi’s and grinding up against him in between sloppy kisses.</p><p class="p1">“Fuck, Koushi, not here,” Daichi groans as the elevator comes to a stop and he prays there’s no one standing there.</p><p class="p1">There’s a little old lady in a sequined dress and elbow-length gloves gaping at them when the elevator doors open.</p><p class="p1">Daichi feels his face flush what he’s sure is a brilliant shade of red. Koushi pays the lady no mind, grabbing Daichi’s hand and all but yanking him out of the elevator. “Koushi!” Daichi scolds him. “You just traumatized that poor woman!”</p><p class="p1">Koushi scoffs. “She’s seen worse, I’m sure,” he says breezily, plucking the room key from Daichi’s hand and letting them inside.</p><p class="p1">It’s a luxurious room, the walls a modern slate gray with marble countertops and floors in the bathroom, but Koushi is singleminded in his destination, blowing past everything else to get to the bed.</p><p class="p1">“Ooh, a king!” he exclaims, sitting on the edge and kicking his shoes off.</p><p class="p1">“You,” Daichi says, planting a hand on each of Koushi’s thighs and spreading them, pinning them in place so he can stand between them, “need to slow down.”</p><p class="p1">“Slow is all well and good,” Koushi says, “but honestly, just <em>waiting</em> for this has been torture. God, I’ve wanted you since I saw you in the Owl’s Nest.”</p><p class="p1">“Then I think you can wait a little longer.” Daichi kisses Koushi’s adorable pout and crosses the room, standing at the window to look out over the city. The boardwalk looks like a mini coastal Las Vegas strip, neon lights of every color reflecting in the ocean. Further down, the pier is lit up too; if he closes his eyes, he can practically see the flashing lights, hear the children laugh, smell the greasy food.</p><p class="p1">“It’s pretty.” Koushi’s snuck up behind him. Daichi looks over at him. There’s a soft, almost thoughtful expression on his face as he surveys the city laid out a dozen stories below. “You could fuck me right here and no one would see us.”</p><p class="p1">“Koushi!” Daichi snorts out a laugh. “Here I thought you were thinking how nice it looks.”</p><p class="p1">“I was.” Koushi flashes him an impish grin. “I was also thinking that I wanted you to fuck me right here and no one would see us.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re the worst,” Daichi tells him, and laughs as Koushi throws his arms around his neck and kisses him again, licking his way into his mouth like he can’t get enough. Daichi pulls him in by the belt loops, groaning when he realizes he can feel Koushi’s arousal through his pants.</p><p class="p1">Koushi huffs against his lips, deft fingers reaching for Daichi’s belt, undoing it without breaking the kiss. They undress in a flurry, unbuttoning dress shirts and pulling desperately at ties until they’re both naked in front of the window. Daichi’s seen Koushi shirtless plenty of times, has admired the freckles dotting his pale skin as he’s helped him with sunscreen, but this…is something else. Backlit by the city skyline and the one lamp in the room, he looks like a wet dream.</p><p class="p1">Daichi needs him.</p><p class="p1">He leans in, winding a hand through Koushi’s hair, and pins him to the glass, kiss turning bruising; Koushi’s grabbing at his hips, blunt fingernails digging into his hipbones. “Daichi, Daichi, <em>please</em>,” Koushi begs him, eyes shiny. Too shiny.</p><p class="p1">“Koushi?” Daichi pauses with his hand on the glass behind Koushi. “You’re crying. Did I hurt you? Do you want to go on the bed?”</p><p class="p1">Koushi shakes his head, nudging Daichi’s back with his heel. “No, I’m not hurt, I just need you so bad, <em>please</em>.”</p><p class="p1">Who the hell is Daichi to say no when he’s got a beautiful boy begging so prettily for him? He takes Koushi’s hand, lacing their fingers together and pressing his hand into the glass next to his head. “I’ve got you,” Daichi whispers, lining his cock up and starting to press in.</p><p class="p1">God, no amount of fantasizing alone in his bedroom could compare to this. Koushi—Koushi is so fucking beautiful like this, head tilted back to expose the planes of his neck, silver hair lit up by the city lights visible outside the window. His fingers lock onto Daichi’s hand like a lifeline as Daichi continues to ease in.</p><p class="p1">“Koushi, <em>fuck</em>,” he pants out, arms steady as he pauses. Koushi is so hot and tight around him, the pressure threatening to make Daichi lose control too soon, and he doesn’t want to do that. No, he wants to draw this out as much as possible, to watch Koushi fall apart.</p><p class="p1">“Come on, I can take it,” Koushi urges him, lifting his thigh to try to force Daichi’s cock deeper. “Just <em>fuck</em> me.”</p><p class="p1">“God, you’re so fucking perfect,” Daichi pants into Koushi’s mouth, kissing him to swallow his moans. “Can’t get enough of you.”</p><p class="p1">“Then don’t stop,” Koushi whispers against his cheek.</p><p class="p1">It’s a bit awkward, in this position, so Daichi’s thinking about testing the results of his gym workouts and picking him up to fuck against the glass, but Koushi’s tapping at his bicep and telling him to let go.</p><p class="p1">“Wait, I want it like this,” Koushi tells him, and Daichi pulls out, watching transfixed as Koushi faces away from him and bends over, hands planted on the windowsill.</p><p class="p1">Koushi is literally going to kill him.</p><p class="p1">“Oh my god,” Daichi mutters.</p><p class="p1">Koushi huffs, sounding impatient now, and turns to shoot Daichi a look over his shoulder. It would be a glare if the punch weren’t taken out by the glazed look in his eyes. “Daichi, <em>fuck me</em>.”</p><p class="p1">Daichi doesn’t waste any more time, grabbing Koushi by the hips and thrusting back in, relishing in the pressure on his cock and Koushi’s filthy moan. “Fuck,” he murmurs, closing his eyes and grinding minutely; if he goes any faster, right now, he’ll come far too quickly.</p><p class="p1">Koushi, however, is not having it, muttering impatiently and rocking his own hips back. “<em>Daichi</em>.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re gonna be the death of me,” Daichi informs him. He catches Koushi’s eye in the glass, their reflection muddled by the lights of the city outside, but it’s enough to let him see Koushi smirk at him.</p><p class="p1">“If you can’t fuck me the way I want, that’s fine,” he says with a teasing lilt in his voice. “Guess I’ll have to find—<em>ah</em>!”</p><p class="p1">Daichi smirks a little at the way Koushi scrabbles at the glass for purchase, smudging up the window with fingerprints. “How’s that?”</p><p class="p1">“Ah, please!”</p><p class="p1">Daichi stops teasing him after that, letting his animal instincts take over as he chases his pleasure. It’s a little embarrassing, or should be, how quickly he comes, but Koushi’s ass feels like fucking heaven, and the <em>sounds</em> he makes—Daichi knows he’ll be hearing those in his dreams for the rest of his life. Koushi yelps and comes first, grabbing at the curtain so hard Daichi thinks he might pull it down. Daichi pulls out, but before he can ask what Koushi wants him to do, Koushi turns around and drops to his knees right in front of him.</p><p class="p1">“Come on,” he whispers, and that’s all Daichi needs. He grunts, jerking himself to completion and covering Koushi’s lips and cheeks in thick ropes of his release.</p><p class="p1">He doesn’t remember cleaning them both up, but he does remember sinking into the luxurious pillowtop mattress with Koushi and falling asleep tangled up in him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>and this is where i must leave you for now, but be assured—more is coming! they still have a few more weeks of summer, after all :D i'd love to know what you think so far! and once again, check out cie's lovely amazing art <a href="https://twitter.com/megaluhdon/status/1244846349981569024?s=20">here</a>!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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